Industry News

Around town

Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath has been a story of both triumph and loss. It has challenged us to not only addresss the physical destruction, but decades-old systemic issues that have disproportionately impacted the African-American community.

- Erika McConduit-Diggs, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans. The Urban League will release their report, “State of Black New Orleans: 10 Years Post Katrina during the organization’s upcoming Hurricane Katrina commemorative conference, titled “RISE: Katrina 10,” August 26-28 at the Hyatt Regency, New Orleans.

Construction Begins On Cobalt Medical Center in Mid-City

On July 10, construction officially began at Cobalt Medical Center, a new 64,000-square-foot medical facility designed to treat various conditions including traumatic brain injuries, Parkinson’s Disease and concussions.

Conveniently located near the burgeoning medical complex, the $24 million project has already generated 160 jobs with its contractors and expects to employ nearly 180 people.

JEDCO Celebrates Success

In its recently-released 2014 annual report, JEDCO celebrated its successes in support of the business community in Jefferson Parish.

Included were JEDCO’s Business Retention & Expansion Program, which assisted 59 projects, helping to create 1,044 new jobs and retain 3,088 additional jobs. Total efforts represented an investment of more than $538 million. JEDCO’s finance committee also approved 14 loans totaling more than $6 million.

Greg Jordan, 2014 JEDCO chairman, highlighted the organization’s work on the Fairfield Vision, a strategic plan to develop 8,000 acres on the West Bank of the parish.

Port of New Orleans Earns Green Port Certification

The Port of New Orleans recently became only the 8th port in the United States to be certified as a Green Port by Green Marine, a North American environmental certification program for the marine, port and terminal industry.

Pictured above are port employees and tenants who picked up over 200 bags of trash during the Port’s Annual Earth Day Cleanup on April 22, 2015.

IdeaVillage Kicks Off 2016 Entrepreneur Season

On Sunday, August 30 at the NOLA Brewing Tap Room, Idea Village will launch its 2016 Entrepreneur Season with the 2nd Annual Entrepalooza. The event will feature successful local entrepreneurs sharing their stories as well as details on the highlights of the upcoming season.

Applications are now open for 100 free, one-on-one strategy sessions for local startups, along with a variety of 10-week and 12-week accelerator programs. For more information, visit IdeaVillage.org.

NEW ORLEANS’ LATEST ACCOLADES

“Second Best City in America”
– Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards 2015

“No. 1 U.S. City for Business Travelers”
– Condé Nast Traveler

“52 Places to Go in 2015”
– New York Times

“Fastest Growing Place for Dining, Snoozing and Boozing”
– SelfStorage.com Moving Blog – (cites the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau data that the number of restaurants in New Orleans grew from 800 in August 2015 to 1,349 as of August 2013.)

At Home

Texas-based home décor superstore At Home opened its first Louisiana store July 9 at 1000 W. Esplanade Blvd in Kenner.

The 90,00-square-foot store brings 25 jobs to Kenner and its surrounding communities and adds to the national chain’s more than 90 stores spread across 25 states.

Drizly

As of July 9, New Orleans has its first on-demand alcohol delivery service — Drizly.

Partnering with Brady’s Wine Warehouse and Pearl Wines, Drizly allows consumers to order beer, wine and spirits via the Drizly app or at Drizly.com and receive their delivery in under an hour. The service is currently available in the French Quarter, Treme, the Garden District, Metairie, Mid-City, Gentilly, Audubon, Elmwood and Gretna.

US Foods

On July 17, US Foods opened a new distribution center in Flowood, Miss., designed to service more than 4,000 chefs, restaurant owners and foodservice operators throughout Louisiana and Mississippi.

The 272,000-square-foot facility will include a state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen for training and product testing, temperature controlled zones, a significantly increased selection of produce and products and two produce ripening rooms.

University Medical Center New Orleans

On August 1, University Medical Center New Orleans officially opened its doors to patients. The largest teaching hospital and training facility in the state, the 2.3 million square-foot complex at 2000 Canal Street is the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the region.

Built over the past three years at a cost of $1.1 billion, UMC employed 15,000 construction workers who logged approximately 6.5 million hours. The facility employs approximately 2,600 people, including 600 physicians